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Neil Young has decided to make himself an example of how hybrid electric cars can be produced with existing technology and without the loss of style with his Lincvolt, an all-electric version of the awesome 1959 Lincoln Continental Mark IV Convertible. He's been working with noted alternative energy nerd Johnathan Goodwin and his company, H-Line Conversions, to develop the car, in current form an electric with an on-board compressed natural gas generator. Young wants the 5,000 pound, 19.5 foot long convertible to be an example to everyone that you can convert any car to run cleaner. galleryPost('lincvolt', 3, 'LincVolt Makes You Go Hummm'); The Lincvolt will be entered into the Progressive Automotive X-Prize competition and make an attempt at 100 MPG equivalent fuel economy - a far, far cry from the original mileage. You can learn more about the car and see it's live unveil over at the project website: Lincvolt.com . [ Telegraph.co.uk ]
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Make room in the shopping cart next to the family-sized toilet paper and ten-gallon jug of industrial apple juice, as Sam's Club is now selling a new all-electric sports car from Hybrid Technologies for the bargain price of just $100,000. Hybrid Technologies, if you remember, builds lithium battery-powered versions of the Mullen GT like the one we drove at the New York Auto Show . This will be a new and improved version which does away with the 'ugliness' and adds 'generic mid-engined supercar hotness,' along with a 200-mile range, 0-60 time of five seconds and a top speed of 150 MPH. The car is being sold as part of a "ONCE-IN-A-LIFETIME Own the World’s Ultimate Electric Super Car Package" promo Sam's is putting on, where the first eager buyer with a membership and the ability to log on to the company's website can buy it on November 12th. The package includes round-trip airfare and lodging for two in Los Angeles, time and training at a local race...
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Popular Mechanics enlisted the help of Mythbuster Jaime Hyneman to answer that all-consuming transportation question: gas or electric? Using a collection of prototypes and production vehicles, the team set out to test compact cars, ATVs, motorcycles and go-karts head-to-head on-road and on the course to find out whether electrics could stand up to tried-and-true gas engines. The answer? Without spoiling a really good read, sometimes yes, sometimes no, but it's sure got us jonesing for an electric-conversion project in the Jalopnik garage. [ PopMech ]
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Given the situation with Tesla Motors lately, you know, Ze'ev Drori getting the boot and Elon Musk taking the reigns as CEO , word of firings of "25-30% of their total staff of 300 employees and contractors" and the closing of the Detroit location (more accurately, the Metro Detroit suburb of Rochester Hills, MI) via blog post , it's no wonder an anonymous reader decided to head out to their Rochester Hills office and take a look. The Rochester Hills facility was opened at the end of January 2007, and was to be the development facility for the Tesla Model S electric sedan, so the closing is a foreboding indicator of the future direction Tesla is heading on that project. Let's take a look inside this essentially doomed location... galleryPost('teslainrochesterhills', 12, 'Tesla In Rochester Hills Is Quiet... Too Quiet'); To be fair, these pics were taken this past Sunday, so it's poor evidence the place is in fact a ghost town but let's just...
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New Italian company Tazzari aims to address one of the key shortcomings of electric cars — recharge time — by offering a vehicle capable of taking a full charge in just 45 minutes. Tazzari hasn’t clarified what kind of outlet is required for this compressed recharge time, but as it’s an Italian company, we’ll assume at least a 220v is needed, but likely not a commercial-grade three-phase unit like the one required by the Lightning GT supercar. By comparison, the Tesla Roadster takes 8 hours or so to recharge its batteries, but it’s also capable of a sub 4-second 0-60 time, a 125 MPH top speed and a range of 200 miles. The Tazzari, which will presumably be far cheaper, is only capable of hitting 56 MPH, has a range of 93 miles and does 0-31 MPH in “less than 5 seconds.” While it’s not a performance car, the Tazzari Zero actually looks like it has significant merit as a city runabout, having range and performance considerably greater than its main competition, the G-Wiz. Like...
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Design house Pininfarina, still mourning the loss of CEO Andrea Pininfarina , showed a stiff upper lip and brought their Pininfarina B0 to the Paris Auto Show . In the process, they created quite the stir — and almost eclipsing the buzz surrounding the Honda Insight Hybrid . The B0, pronounced B Zero, is four-seat, four-door electric hatchback created in partnership with Bolloré and is not, repeat, not , a concept car. According to Pininfarina, the B0will be a mass production model, with the first units coming off the production line at the end of 2009, after which production will be ramped up gradually based on the availability of the batteries. What about the range and power? Well, we're told the car has a range of 153 miles and a top speed of 80 MPH. How's that sound? Pretty good, right? You know what doesn't sound good? The double digit 0-to-60 time. Hit the jump for the full press release. galleryPost('PininfarinaB0Concept', 12, 'B0 Knows Electric'...
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Detroit has the Chevy Volt , California has the Tesla Roadster , Japan supposedly will have a plug-in Toyota Prius at some point. Now South Africa has their first electric vehicle in the six-seater Joule MPV developed by tech startup Optimal Energy. This all-electric car, just revealed at the Paris Motor Show , claims to have a 125-mile range on one battery back or double that with two packs. The drivetrain includes motor-driven wheels up front and allegedly in-wheel magnetic propulsion in the rear. With an exterior and interior designed by a former Jaguar designer, the company hopes to launch the car in South Africa in late 2010 and export it to other countries shortly thereafter. Press release below the jump. galleryPost('optenjoule', 3, 'A Joule In The Rough'); Joule is Africa’s first battery electric engineering masterpiece from Optimal Energy. The silent passenger MPV is manufactured as a standard six-seater which complies with UN-ECE safety standards offering an optimal...
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The DuraCar QUICC! DiVa finally brings the enthusiast world what it has long been clamoring for: A Dutch electric car made entirely of plastic. The QUICC! is intended primarily for European urban delivery markets and features an all-electric powertrain wrapped in a "cradle-to-cradle" plastic chassis and body. The press release jumps around in typical broken English fashion, but the QUICC! apparently employs lithium-ion phosphate batteries in conjunction with bipolar lead batteries and some sort of fuel-cell mechanism. However it works, DuraCar claims a range of 93 miles and a top speed of 75 MPH for the DiVa, with no CO2 emissions. We'll bring you more after the QUICC! gets its Paris Motor Show reveal, but in the meantime the full release is after the jump. galleryPost('quiccevparis', 9, 'QUICC! DiVa Is Plastic Dutch EV Nirvana'); World Première New Dutch Car Brand QUICC! Launched at Paris Motor Show Mondial de L'Automobile HEERLEN, The Netherlands - Mondial...
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Yesterday's reveal of the production Chevy Volt got us thinking we should take a closer look at the design features, both inside and out, that make GM's plug-in hybrid unique. We've picked out what we think are the five exterior and an equal number of interior design elements we feel are most important, and taken a little deeper look at each. Without further ado, hit the jump for our top ten key design elements that make the Volt so...eclectically electric.
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At GM's "blogger town hall" at the end of yesterday's Chevy Volt unveil , the General's Vice Chairman and product czar, "Maximum" Bob Lutz , made mention to a Volt feature we hadn't yet heard about, and is even more techie-cool than the iPod-like interface on the center stack. Apparently, the Volt will "know how far you are from home" using what we're assuming is an on-board GPS system. The plug-in electric extended range hybrid's computer will then use that distance, along with route information, to determine how long the car needs to run the gas engine to charge the on-board battery pack, allowing the vehicle to truly maximize fuel economy. Even if you're not drinking the GM Kool-Aid, you've got to be wow'ed by a system like that — as long as it actually works. Read the full quote from "The" Bob after the galleries and the jump below. "with the Volt, you never have to worry you use the full 40 (mile...
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GM's 100th birthday celebration kicks off in a few short hours featuring their revival of the semi-electric car in just a few hours with the official unveil of the Chevy Volt on a very MTV Unplugged-like stage. Click here to get electric with us tomorrow at 8:30 AM EST as we watch Chevy's exercise in generating buzz both under the hood and with the worldwide apparatus collectively known as the "media." For the moment, hit the jump to see our past coverage of the excitement — but whatever you do, wake up early tomorrow here at our Chevy Volt Live-Blog ! (10:10 PM EST) UPDATE: We've got shots of the Renaissance Center Wintergarden stage taken this evening in the gallery below. galleryPost('VoltGMNextEarly', 6, 'GM Gets Ready To Rock Down To Electric Avenue'); The Chevy Volt, A Jalopnik History An Electric Sled Through Time Edmunds Thinks Chevy Volt Design Is "Huge Disappointment," "Completely Unacceptable" First Full Picture...
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The thorn in Tesla's side, the troubled single-speed transmission for its all-electric Tesla Roadster , has finally been approved for production, and with it comes an announcement of more power and better range. After durability problems with the original single-speed transmission, Telsa was forced to used a two-speed cog swapper for production. But now, after re-sourcing the business to transmission mega-star Borg Warner, the redesigned single-speed is ready to go and offers big benefits. Because of the additional capability in the transmission, the peak torque has been raised from 211 lb-ft to 280 lb-ft; a heady number considering peak torque arrives at zero rpm with an electric motor. Despite the higher output, the EPA estimates show a 10% increase in range. That's a pretty neat trick. Complete details below. Tesla Motors Selects BorgWarner for Production of New Gearbox for Tesla Roadster Deliveries of 27 Roadsters Completed to Date, Production and Delivery of Roadsters To Accelerate...
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Ever been curious what takes place under the Tesla Roadster ’s hood in the absence of internal combustion? Well, here’s an explanation of what the parts are and and what they do, conveniently numbered so you can follow along at home. Make the jump to see why "Tesla mechanic" would be a totally cush job. galleryPost('teslaroadsterinsides', 2, 'Inside the Tesla Roadster'); Number 1: This is the electric motor. Running on AC power, it can rev up to 13,000 RPM while producing 248 HP and 200 lb-ft. Maximum torque is available all the way from 0-6,000 RPM Number 2: The one-speed transmission. After reliability problems with a two-speed design, Tesla settled for this stronger, simpler one-speed. The 8.27:1 drive ratio allows for a 0-60 time of around 4 seconds and a top speed of 125 MPH. Number 3: The Power Electronics Module. In addition to capturing the power from regenerative braking and using it to recharge the batteries, it also smooths out power delivery under hard...
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We've told you about the planned Tesla Model S , an aluminum-intensive four-door electric sedan. Now Autocar reports the Model S isn't just a single vehicle, but actually a platform expected to yield a variety of different cars and even an SUV. Aside from the use of aluminum instead of the Tesla Roadster 's carbon fiber, a new, flatter battery pack mounted at the base of the chassis is said to provide the flexibility needed for a comprehensive vehicle family. Now the question becomes, "when are we going to see these new vehicles?" Jalopnik Snap Judgment: According to Autocar , we should expect to see the Model S sedan in 2010, with the SUV and a four-door coupe arriving around 2015. The word from Tesla is less encouraging, however: The company is hoping to launch the sedan after construction of its new California factory is completed, and they describe the design as “ninety percent” complete. Knowing that the "devil is in the details" — details being...
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Not content to wait for the major automakers to show up with their expensive Chevy Volts or Electric Cubes , regular folks are home-brewing their own electric vehicles. While the results you get with golf-cart batteries aren't quite the same as what you get with, say, Li-Ion batteries (usually just 20 to 40 miles on an overnight charge), we doubt there's any other way to get yourself an electric-powered Honda Del Sol. One Atlanta man spent $12,000 converting his Chevy S-10 pickup — not exactly a gas-guzzler to begin with — to cruise on all-electric for 40 miles with a top speed of 60 MPH. While this might not be the most cost-effective way to lower the price of commuting, it's a fun project for those looking to go green and who aren't interesting in taking the easy way out by buying a Tesla or waiting for something else. Anyone have a donor BRAT and a cache of golf cart batteries? [ CNN.com , Photo: Flickr ]
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